God's Witness: The Courage of Stephen

God's Witness: The Courage of Stephen
Written by The Voice of the Martyrs with Cheryl Odden
Illustrated by G.R. Erlan
Copyright: 2009
Format: Hardcover
Status: many pre-owned copies available on ebay. I believe it is part of this set of books that can be purchased directly from Voice of the Martyrs.
 Conclusion: Keep



I originally found this book at a thrift store and bought it because it was a story we did not have in our collection yet.  However, we haven't gotten much use out of it because once I read it, I decided it was not appropriate for my daughter's age.  Being the story of Stephen, and written by The Voice of the Martyrs, they don't sugar-coat this story in the slightest. I believe I did finally read it to her this year, when she was 6.  It's a good book, but it's not emotionally easy to read.

The Good Points:

  • The book follows the Bible very closely.
  • The illustrations are beautiful!
  • The story is written with two styles of text, so you can read a condensed version by only reading the italicized words, or the fuller version by reading all of the words.
  • The story begins by giving a context for when in the Bible this takes place and who Stephen was.
  • One great thing about this book is that it does not end with Stephen's death, but continues on to tell the story of Saul also. 
  • The story points out that Stephen's death and Saul's reaction to it was responsible for pushing the gospel outside of Jerusalem to other towns.
  • It quotes Jesus's words in Acts 1:7-8 to show that his prediction was fulfilled.
  • The book concludes with a story about a modern boy defending the Bible, and explaining that it is not always easy to talk about Jesus, but it is important.
  • The final pages of the book include some discussion questions and a prayer for personal courage to share the faith and for other Christians around the world.

The Discrepancies:

  • At multiple points this book emphasizes that people were turning away from their religion to follow Jesus thanks to Stephen's work.  The Bible mentions that many people became believers, but never specifically states that it was because of Stephen.  
  • This book gives some details about the debate Stephen had with some of the religious men, though the Bible does not give these details.  His arguments are not counter to what the Bible teaches, and certainly could have argued these things, but it is not specifically mentioned anywhere.
Overall, this is a very well-written book.  I like it very much, but again, I caution you that it is not for young children.  I began reading it to my daughter when she was 6, but there are good reasons to hold off for a bit longer if you choose.  You know your family best.   I would recommend this book for children ages 6-10.





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